The 86-year-old went missing in September

Seven months on from when he was first reported missing, the son and grandson of missing pensioner Brian Smart are still living in hope that the 86-year-old is safe and well.

Speaking at the pensioner’s home in Abbey Wood, his grandson Harry described the moment he found out his granddad was missing.

“I was driving with a mate and I saw the police cars, I asked my dad what was going on. It was unexpected, you think ‘Not in? Where’s he gone?

“Now we’re just ticking over, the first month was the hardest and then you’ve got to go back to reality.”

It was the pensioner’s son, Mark, who first realised his father had gone missing.

He said: “You come in and you think why’s he not here? So I phoned around, no one knew, so I rung 101 to check the hospitals just in case anything had happened, then the police came and started investigating.”

Thursday marked the pensioner’s 86th birthday.

In previous years, the family would celebrate by going out for a meal, and his son said the family were planning for his 90th.

But as the search reaches its seventh month, son Mark said there was still hope.

He said: “You live in hope that he’s alive and well, the police said they find people after six or seven months, they turn up in Scotland or in hospital somewhere and don’t know who they are.

“It’s getting on now, its been seven months, some answers would be nice if anyone knows anything.

“You’ve got to get on with life, he wouldn’t want us to mope about, but there’s no closure.”

Mark, 54, regularly visits his father’s home to, in his own words, “maintain” and admitted the most sleep he had managed in the past few months was six hours.

“When my mum died you could grieve, when you haven’t found him it plays on your mind, you wake up at silly o’clock.”

Police are now offering a £10,000 reward for information that could lead to finding the pensioner’s current location.

He walks with a stick and it was not thought he had money or an Oyster Card with him.

It is believed at the time of his disappearance he was wearing a beige or cream jacket which is featured in the CCTV footage taken the day before he went missing.

Anyone with information is asked to call police in Greenwich on 020 8284 7712/13 or 07770 825571.